Methadone Drug Addiction .com

Being addicted to Methadone is pretty bad too I would think...I don't know just curious...
Good answers so far...I was doing some reading just now from some blogs of ex-heroin addicts on methadone. The majority of them said that they have been able to quit heroin cold turkey at one point, however no of them can quit methadone even once. Very interesting stuff...one horribly addicting drug for another...

I have done a lot of research on it because of some pain issues, and honestly, the only reason I can see for putting someone on methadone is that it is delivered in a clinical setting with supervision, while heroin is used in an unsupervised setting, and may involve the use of dirty needles and HIV transmission, as well as criminal activity to get money for the drugs. The only other benefit is that the dose is consistent, so there's less chance of accidental OD, which is always a problem when you are buying drugs on the street because you don't know the exact purity of what you are taking.

They used to think that methadone made it easier to quit heroin, which in theory it does--it simply replaces a natural opiate with a synthetic one, so the person is no longer doing heroin. I know methadone has a longer half-life, so you don't have to dose as often (hence people can just go in once a day), and it's also cheaper than most other narcotic pain killers from a pure analgesic standpoint, but it really makes no sense to me. I know some people who have been on methadone maintenance for years and years--I met a man once who had been on it since the mid 80s, which at that time meant a little over 10 years. He happened to work a block away from the methadone clinic, so it was very convenient for him to pop in for his dose during his morning break at work, but it was a hassle for him to have to drive into town on weekends. He actually told me that he had attempted to get off methadone twice, and it was harder than detoxing from heroin, so go figure.

The one thing I do know, just from personal experience with opiates (all legally prescribed to me) is that you build up a tolerance over time, and after a while you don't really get high. Mine are prescribed for pain, and they used to make me really loopy and out of it for hours, but now they just make me loopy for a little bit (but they also don't control pain very well anymore). I would imagine it's the same with both heroin and methadone--you don't get high anymore, you just don't get the crawlies and have a tremendous need for more. The other thing I know is that people who are given methadone for pain management have a higher incidence of fatal OD than people who are given other opiates. Most opiates interfere with breathing--your lungs just stop working. Methadone, on the other hand, seems to interfere with something in the heart, instead. It's making a comeback as a painkiller in the US (for a while there it was strictly used for heroin addicts), and people are dying from using it.

I guess Uncle Sam doesn't mind if you're an addict as long as he's your dealer.

2007-07-15 00:00:53 by Phantoms

Manic Street Preachers - Methadone Pretty

Im in a lot of pain when i wake up and I have trouble through my day and i want to see how i can get a prescription of methadone from a local doctor. what do i have to do to get methadone prescribbed to me? Im pretty sure i have insurance..

by perscription?
go to your doctor and tell the doctor that you have chronic pain, explain detaildly how bad it is, even though its a lie and that you want to get high.

the doctor is most likely going to say that methadone is used as a substitute for heroin. and perscribe you a different type of pain meddication. like panadine fort which is a extremely poweful pain killer that you dont want to overdose on. just the required ammount can make you feel in lala land.

your going to have to exageratte a lot about your pain. you can hardly get up, and lie about the areas you feel pain. if she doesnt perscribe that particular meddication
just visit another doctor at a different clinic

2010-03-07 01:05:22 by Sean

I have been taking anywhere fro 60mgs to 80mgs of methadone a day for 14 months now. After talking with people I started to worry I may be addicted. I haven't taken any for 20 days now. I feel pretty good, other than a little sore sometimes. I want to know how long till I can expect the withdraw pain to kick in. Or is it over exaggerated for methadone, and the withdraw is really nothing to serious. Thanks

If you havent already started to feel anything I wouldnt worry now.

2010-02-28 18:52:31 by N. PIKE

I want to get clean. Methadone is a dangerous drug as well. I don't want to switch addictions, just want to get off of all drugs. I can't go longer than 10 hours or else the "fountain" begins and it's not pretty.

Rehab

2008-02-04 19:46:29 by dudeeeeeeeesssssssss

Im an experienced vicodin user but havent use any in a few weeks. My tolerance has gone down and i can get pretty messed up off of 20 mg right now. I have a bottle of 5mg methadone pills and am wondering how much i should take to get me that good vicodin feeling.

None. Unfortunately, ignorance & a lack of proper education about methadone has led to the foolish belief that it has a street value in terms of recreational use. Methadone, while indeed an opioid agonist, does not impair cognitive function, motor skills, or produce any feelings of euphoria. In other words, it won't get you high.
1)Methadone is an opioid agonist- a synthetic opiate (an opiate being any of the narcotic medications used to treat pain derived from the poppy plant). It was first synthesized when a pharmacologist (no, not Hitler, as some anti-methadone propaganda suggest) was trying to find a medication that was less addictive than morphine. Soldiers in the world wars were returning with morphine addictions at alarming rates; primarily because field medicine in the era was limited to pain killers, and many soldiers who became injured also became addicted.
Methadone, as it turns out, is actually just as addictive as morphine- and heroin. In fact, the physical addiction is more severe.
Opiates, unlike other drugs like crack, coke, amphetamines, pot, LSD, etc- have a propensity for PHYSICAL addiction: your body produces natural painkillers, referred to as endorphins , in small amounts to help your body function during pain. They are also released during orgasm, moments of happiness, and exercise (“runners high”) among others.
Opiates- or Opioids- attach themselves to the same receptors in your brain that endorphins do- the caveat being, the levels of them are dramatically increased than what your own body would naturally produce.
The human body, in an attempt to conserve energy, will realize that a person who is using opiates on a regular, daily basis, are providing their body with more than enough synthetic endorphins to run properly, and the body will stop it’s own production of them. When the user stops using opiates, the body is entirely devoid of these feel good hormones, which are normally released in constant, though slow, fluctuations by the body. This is what’s known as acute, physical withdrawal.
Unlike most opiates, methadone is a time released medication- this makes the acute withdrawal phase much longer, and more severe than that of someone withdrawing from other opiates. Though worse, the symptoms are similar- nausea, vomiting, cramping in the stomach, legs and muscles; respiratory fluctuations, irregular heartbeat, a raise in blood pressure, etc.
The user must go through this period- which last about 7 days with most opiates, but 2-4 weeks for methadone users- before the body is producing it’s own endorphins again.
2)Methadone has 2 uses: pain management for CHRONIC, SEVERE pain- those going through chemo, terminal disease, surgery- and for opiate addiction. The Harrison drug act made it illegal for general practitioner doctors to prescribe methadone for opiate addiction- only state run clinics can do so, and must follow rigorous regulations. A doctor may prescribe it for pain without these limitations.
3)Methadone for opiate addiction- MMT- is a long term, highly successful way to treat opiate addicts. It is one of many methods, but the only one with a success rate for sobriety over the rate of 22%- and also considered the safest.
It does cause constipation and sweating; and it is dangerous to withdrawal while pregnant, because withdrawal from any opiate can cause miscarriage. It is NOT illegal to drive on IF you are on MMT- the dose of methadone used in treating opiate addiction is at a therapeutic level that does NOT impair cognitive function or motor skill- this is ensured through serum level testing on the MMT patient’s blood called a peak and trough.
When used for MMT, it simply keeps the patient from going into withdrawal- it does not give them a buzz.
4)Methadone is an effective treatment for both for the reason that it is time released. This factor makes it easier to take- one dose holds a patient over for 24 hours, and the time release factor makes it less likely to cause overdose- overdose from methadone is EXTREMELY RARE when taken as prescribed.
You may have noticed lately there’s been a lot of stigma about methadone- and some celebrity deaths. These however, were not the result of proper methadone use. They were the result of people taking methadone that was NOT prescribed to them, or improperly prescribed; and the ultimate cause of death was the mixing of the methadone with other meds- booze, pills, etc.
Ignorance about how it works is most often the reason it’s abused- because methadone is time released, it doesn’t produce a buzz or high- a person seeking one, who doesn’t understand the pharmacology of it- will often take more, or take other drugs in conjunction with it, when they realize they’re not getting high. The cumulative effect of that is what causes death.
Methadone, like any drug, IS dangerous- if you don’t use it as prescribed- the key phrase being WHEN TAKEN AS PRESCRIBED.

Unfortunately, the abuse of this medication has made real problems for those who were finally able to get sober with it. Hysteria, ignorance, and propaganda by uneducated people who read about tabloid deaths- but not the real causes- provoke and spread ignorance further- creating fear, and sadly, a new generation of kids who are looking for drugs that think methadone is a good one. And the cycle continues.

MMT clients are given methadone In a supervised setting- only after years of clean drug tests, total compliance, and perfect attendance can they apply for take home doses- and those are given in very small increments. Take homes must be taken home in a locked box, stored that way, and the client must be willing to bring in any unused doses within 24 hours if called, to show they’re using them properly and not selling them. If a client skips their dose, or sells it, they will become extremely ill- and once taking methadone, heroin and other opiates rarely are strong enough to stop withdrawal, or even produce a high- so MMT patients are generally not the culprits of street bought methadone.

Methadone bought on the street is usually sold by a person who either paid a physician or lied to a physician and obtained the methadone dishonestly. Severe pain is the only real use for it, and unfortunately, there are no regulations for general practitioners- so it’s easier to obtain from them. If you buy it off the street, you have no way of knowing what dose it is or if it’s even what they say- it’s usually given in oral/liquid suspension, to allow for changes in dose; and you’ve got no idea if someone added water to it, alcohol or something else. Methadone has a terrible taste that can only be compared to turpentine- this deters people from taking it who shouldn’t- but that also makes it easy for someone to mask dangerous chemicals in it when selling it illegally.

If you don’t have a prescription, overdose is possible, depending on the dose. It’s a strong medication and you have no business taking it if it’s not yours- you will not only be hurting yourself, but a lot of people who have struggled to get clean, who could lose it because of you.
If you have a drug problem, there are county boards for drug and alcohol abuse that can put you in touch with programs available- MMT or other.

2010-11-06 14:03:49 by King